Reportage under fire: Izvestia military commander Alexander Fedorchak died after the Ukrainian attack in the LPR

Alexander Fedorchak, a correspondent for Izvestia, was killed during filming in the Luhansk People's Republic. According to preliminary information, on March 24, a journalist was preparing a report on the work of UAV crews when a group of reporters was hit by artillery fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is also known about the deaths of employees of the Zvezda TV channel — cameraman Andrei Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli, who were with Alexander on the set. On the same day, it was reported that Mikhail Skuratov, a TASS correspondent, had received shrapnel wounds in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region. The Investigative Committee of Russia reported that a criminal case has been opened into the deaths of journalists and civilians. After the death of the military officers, the UN Secretary General's office said they opposed the killing of journalists, and "an investigation is needed." It is significant that the new tragedy, organized by the Kiev regime, occurred against the background of negotiations in Saudi Arabia - on the day when the delegations of the Russian Federation and the United States discussed ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

"It's a pity when young guys who didn't have time to do so much die"

As a result of the artillery shelling of the Kremen municipal district by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, six people were killed, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, said in his Telegram channel.

Among them are three employees of the federal media who worked in the territory of the Luhansk People's Republic: Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak, cameraman and driver of the Zvezda TV channel Andrey Panov and Alexander Sirkeli.

A 14-year-old teenager was also injured, who received shrapnel wounds. The guy was promptly taken to one of the medical institutions, where he receives all the necessary assistance.

In recent days, Alexander Fedorchak has been working in the Kharkiv region. His last report came out on March 23. It was a story about how our troops are squeezing a semicircle around Kupyansk. With the help of drones, fighters destroy enemy fortifications and armored vehicles, and mine supply routes for the militants. The 45th Guards Engineering brigade of the Zapad group has a special operator training center where they work on simulators.

— And here in this room the final stage of training of UAV operators is already taking place, — Alexander showed. — Such a training ground was built in an underground bunker. Here, the operator, who is sitting with the remote control, needs to perform a huge number of exercises, go through such an obstacle course. A special drone is used for training. He's flying right now...

The very next day, Izvestia learned about the tragic death of a comrade - Ukrainian militants again targeted a group of journalists covering the events in the Luhansk People's Republic.

—Today's death of Alexander Fedorchak is another terrible loss for our team," said Vladimir Tyulin, General Director of Izvestia. — Sasha was a young, talented journalist who should have had many more stories, many achievements, and a lifetime ahead of him. It's especially sad when such young guys die who didn't have time to do so much. Our opponent continues to target journalists who are doing their job and doing their duty. Despite all the agreements and statements, they are surreptitiously hitting those who cannot return fire. But we are sure that those who did this will soon be justly punished. For our part, we will do everything for this. Our entire team expresses its deep condolences to Alexander Fedorchak's family and friends and grieves with them.

The military officers of Izvestia warmly recall their joint work with Alexander - business trips to the SVO zone made these guys friends forever.

— Young and overactive… He was ready to work around the clock, devoted his life to the news of the Russian army and died like a real warrior," said Denis Kulaga, a correspondent for Izvestia. — I remember his first business trip to the SVR zone as a correspondent for Izvestia. The first thing he was worried about was not to interfere with our team with his filming. At that time, Fred and I were very surprised that he almost apologized to us for the fact that he was also going to work in the Artemovsky direction. An amazing approach. I've never encountered anything like this. Naturally, none of us were against it. But his penetrating tact did not go unnoticed. A guy who wanted to help everyone so much and was so afraid to hurt anyone. It is very rare to find such distinctive character traits.

Military commander Alexander Sladkov was one of the first to respond to the disaster.

"Reporters are where it's hot, where it's most dangerous, shoulder to shoulder with the military," he told Izvestia. — We must keep this in mind when we consider the reporter's status, when we talk about the usefulness of the press. All the time, the truth is confirmed in blood, for which reporters climb like chestnuts into the fire. May the Kingdom of heaven be upon the departed, and the wounded must recover.

"They are deliberately and precisely hitting Russian journalists"

Vladimir Solovyov, Chairman of the Union of Journalists of Russia, expressed his deepest condolences to Alexander's family and colleagues on behalf of the Union of Journalists of Russia.

"The job of a war correspondent is probably one of the hardest in the world, and, alas, sometimes we have to bury our friends," he said. — As far as we know, Alexander was wearing a vest with the inscription "Press" — it's quite dangerous now. Since 2014, our colleagues have been trying not to wear such identification marks on their chests. Unfortunately, contrary to all international conventions, Ukrainian snipers, Ukrainian soldiers and drone operators specifically target Russian journalists when they see the inscription "Press" through optics. Maybe they have some kind of monetary rewards for this, but they deliberately and deliberately target Russian journalists in order to drown out the voice of truth. And, alas, unfortunately, they did it this time.

The head of the Republic of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said in his Telegram channel that before the start of his career, Alexander worked for the Krym 24 TV channel, and since 2022 he has been a correspondent for the Zvezda TV channel.

"I express my most sincere and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Alexander Sergeevich, I share your sorrow and pain. Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven," he wrote.

Vadim Pervykh, general director of the Krym shopping mall, chairman of the Crimean branch of the Union of Journalists, remembers Alexander as always an optimistic, cheerful person, ready to take on any job.

— He wanted to fight on his front, he loved his homeland, his family, and his job very much. And I never got discouraged, despite all the horrors of the war," he said.

"It's unfair and unfair when such young, brave people like Sanya leave, who are full of hope, wanted to change the world for the better, but could not realize all their dreams and desires,— says Elizaveta Polyakova, a classmate of Alexander.

"Another crime of the Kiev regime will not be forgotten by 'strategic silence'

The Russian Foreign Ministry will seek a response from the OSCE and UNESCO, as well as other relevant structures, to the death of Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"I can already assure you that the Kiev regime's next crime against freedom of speech and journalism will not be forgotten by the 'strategic silence' paid for by Western curators," she said.

Journalists are becoming a priority target for criminals of the Kiev regime, which highlights its terrorist nature, as well as the violation of all conventions related to prisoners of war, which is absolutely beyond imaginable cruelty. All those involved must be identified and convicted by law for these terrorist acts, Alexander Asafov, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, said in a comment to Izvestia.

"Since 2014, it has become clear that the inscription "Press", which is supposed to protect journalists and non—combatants, becomes a separate marker of a priority target for the punishers of the Nazi regime, whether they are snipers or other representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said.

The Kiev regime violates international law and norms that protect journalists because it is afraid of honest coverage of the situation, Vladimir Shapovalov, a political scientist and deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University, told Izvestia.

— Not only Russian journalists are dying, but also Western ones, like Gonzalo Lira, who was killed in a Ukrainian prison. The Kiev regime is confident in its impunity, that Western patrons will protect it," the expert said.

He believes that real actions on the part of the journalistic communities or relevant international organizations are unlikely, since they are under the direct or indirect control of the West. It is possible that only after a while they will make the necessary decisions, as was the case with the ECHR verdict to hold Ukraine responsible for the deaths of people at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa in May 2014. It took almost 11 years to make this decision, Shapovalov stressed.

Words of condolences began to arrive in Izvestia immediately after the news of our comrade's death. They were transmitted by colleagues from all over the country, as well as from Bulgaria and Lebanon.

The murder of Russian journalists took place against the background of an expert meeting of the "technical teams" of Russia and the United States, which took place on March 24 in a closed format at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. The negotiations began at ten in the morning and continued until late in the evening with three breaks. On Monday afternoon, a member of the Russian delegation, the head of the international committee of the Federation Council, Grigory Karasin, said that negotiations were in full swing, and serious problems were being discussed.

Izvestia remembers

On April 19, 2024, Izvestia's military correspondent Semyon Eremin died while filming a report in a special operation zone during an FPV drone attack. After the drone attack, the journalist was injured, and he later died. The military commander was 42 years old. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation stated that the journalist died as a result of a targeted attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On April 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Semyon Eremin the Order of Courage posthumously. Earlier, the correspondent was also awarded the medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II degree.

On January 4 of this year, Izvestia correspondent Alexander Martemyanov was killed when an APU drone hit a car on the Donetsk–Horlivka highway. Martemyanov died from his injuries. He was also awarded the Order of Courage.

Maxim Eliseev, the former editor of the Izvestia TV channel, died in December last year in a special military operation zone. In 2022, he volunteered for the front, leaving his professional career. It is known that he served as a signalman, his unit was located on the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic.

On September 30 last year, Izvestia correspondent Denis Kulaga was wounded in the special operation area near Chasovoy Yar. When returning from filming a report, his car was attacked by an enemy FPV drone. A few minutes later, the Ukrainian militants struck the wounded again. Denis sat in the ruins of Chasova Yar for more than a day before he was able to move to a safe area.

Over the past year, not only the military personnel of Izvestia have suffered in the performance of their professional duties. So, on June 16, 2024, as a result of an attack by a Ukrainian drone in the area of the Nikolsky Monastery near Ugledar (DPR), a correspondent was killed. NEWS.ru Nikita Tsitsagi.

On August 7, 2024, Yevgeny Poddubny, a military correspondent for VGTRK, was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region. The car in which the military commander was was shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the journalist himself was seriously injured: traumatic brain and other injuries, severe burns.

On June 13, 2024, a Ukrainian drone attacked an NTV film crew near the village of Golmovsky in Gorlovka, DPR, killing cameraman Valery Kozhin and seriously injuring Alexei Ivliev. They arrived at the positions of the Russian military to prepare a report on the frequent shelling of local residents.

On January 4, 2025, RIA Novosti correspondents Maxim Romanenko and Mikhail Kevkhiev, who were traveling in a car with Alexander Martemyanov, were injured and concussed on the Donetsk—Horlivka highway.

In total, according to official information, more than 30 Russian journalists have died in Donbas since 2014.

We were working on the text: Kirill Fenin, Yulia Leonova, Roman Kretsul, Vladimir Matveev, Bogdan Stepovoy